Shetland Meets The Missing: Inside BBC One’s Explosive and Emotional New Family Crime Drama Mint

What would it really be like to grow up inside a powerful crime family? Not as the godfather pulling strings, but as the child at the dinner table, the daughter trying to find love, or the grandmother watching a dynasty spiral into chaos? That’s the provocative and heart-wrenching question posed by the BBC’s newest prestige drama, Mint — a dark, funny, devastatingly emotional eight-part series that has already been dubbed “Shetland meets The Missing with a dangerous twist.”

With its sharp script from rising filmmaker Charlotte Regan (Scrapper), powerhouse performances from Emma Laird, Sam Riley, Laura Fraser, Lewis Gribben, Lindsay Duncan and Ben Coyle-Larner, and a premise that flips the traditional gangster narrative on its head, Mint is poised to become the BBC’s most talked-about drama of 2025.

And from what we’ve seen in the first official stills — and from conversations with cast and crew — it’s clear that this is not just another tale of mobsters, murder and mayhem. It’s about family, female power, young love, and the crushing weight of living in a world where everyone outside your front door is terrified of you.

So, let’s break down everything we know about Mint — from the plot and the cast, to the creative vision driving it, and why it could be the BBC’s next global crime hit.

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What Is Mint About?

At the heart of Mint is Shannon, played by breakout star Emma Laird (The Brutalist, Mayor of Kingstown). Shannon is the romantic, dreamy daughter of the Dylan family, one of Scotland’s most feared criminal clans. Her father Dylan (Sam Riley, Rebecca) is a gangster with a reputation that precedes him. Her mother Cat (Laura Fraser, unforgettable in Breaking Bad and The Missing) is loyal and pragmatic. Her brother Luke (Lewis Gribben, Shetland) is torn between loyalty and escape. And her grandmother Ollie (Lindsay Duncan, Sherwood) is the tough, sharp-tongued matriarch who has seen it all.

Shannon has grown up in what the BBC describes as “the surreal yet violent confines of the family business.” She has always been protected, but never free. And like so many young women her age, she is desperate to fall in love.

Enter Arran (Ben Coyle-Larner, the Mercury Prize-nominated rapper better known as Loyle Carner), a charming, mysterious outsider who seems to offer Shannon everything she’s ever wanted: affection, escape, independence. But romance, in Shannon’s world, comes with a price. And as their love deepens, the cracks within the Dylan family widen — revealing a story about infatuation, heartbreak, power and tragedy.

“This is not a crime drama about the godfather in his corner office,” Regan explains. “It’s about the daughter, the mum, the grandma. It’s about what it feels like to live alongside crime — not to orchestrate it.”

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An Emotional Crime Drama Like No Other

If you think you’ve seen enough gangster sagas, think again. What sets Mint apart is its focus on emotion over execution. Yes, there are moments of violence. Yes, there are criminal deals and turf wars bubbling under the surface. But the real story is about family — specifically, the women within it.

The BBC calls the series “a story about soaring romance and crushing heartbreak, love, infatuation, darkness and tragedy.”

This perspective — shifting away from the men with guns to the women who live with their consequences — is what makes Mint such a fresh take. Imagine The Sopranos told through Meadow’s eyes, or Peaky Blinders centred on Ada and Polly rather than Tommy Shelby. That’s the boldness of Mint.

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Meet the Cast of Mint

• Emma Laird as Shannon: Having wowed critics opposite Adrien Brody in The Brutalist, Laird is fast becoming one of Britain’s most exciting young talents. Shannon, she says, is a role “that breaks your heart while giving you hope at the same time.”

• Sam Riley as Dylan: Known for his brooding intensity in films like Control and Rebecca, Riley brings a quiet menace to Dylan, the father whose love is as suffocating as it is protective.

• Laura Fraser as Cat: The Scottish actress, beloved for her devastating turn in Breaking Bad as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, takes on a very different role here — a mother fighting to hold her family together.

• Lewis Gribben as Luke: Fresh from Shetland, Gribben plays Shannon’s conflicted brother, who longs for escape but fears betraying his blood.

• Lindsay Duncan as Ollie: A stage and screen legend, Duncan embodies the grandmother who has seen generations of Dylan men fall into the same cycles of violence — and who is determined to protect her granddaughter from the same fate.

• Ben Coyle-Larner as Arran: Best known as rapper Loyle Carner, Coyle-Larner makes a bold leap into acting here, playing the man who may either save Shannon — or destroy her.

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Behind the Scenes: Charlotte Regan’s Vision

Mint is written, directed and executive-produced by Charlotte Regan, the award-winning filmmaker behind Scrapper. For Regan, this is more than just another project — it’s a deeply personal exploration of family, love and resilience.

“I had a little cry the other day thinking about how incredible this cast are,” she admitted in a BBC press release. “Absolute emotional wreck. But I honestly can’t imagine these characters being brought into the world by better human beings. Every single one of them is going to smash it, and I feel so grateful to have them onboard.”

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, echoed the excitement: “Mint is a crime drama like no other from the brilliant mind of Charlotte Regan and the teams at Fearless Minds and House Productions. Championing the females in the family, it shows a very different side to what a life of crime is really like for those who live alongside that world.”

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Why Glasgow?

Filming for Mint took place in Glasgow earlier this year. The city, with its gritty streets and rich cultural history, provides the perfect backdrop for a story that is equal parts intimate family drama and high-stakes crime saga.

Glasgow has long been a favourite filming location for British crime dramas — its raw edges, its atmosphere, its ability to feel both grand and claustrophobic. For Mint, it becomes not just a setting, but a character in its own right: beautiful, dangerous, unforgettable.

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A Family Crime Saga for a New Era

One of the most intriguing things about Mint is its timing. In the last decade, audiences have devoured crime dramas from every angle: Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley, Shetland. The appetite is clearly there. But where those shows often centre on detectives or charismatic gang leaders, Mint pivots.

By placing Shannon at the centre — a young woman searching for love in a terrifying world — the series becomes something more relatable. It’s about innocence colliding with corruption, hope battling history, and the impossible dream of breaking free from your family’s sins.

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Anticipation and Release Date

So when can we actually watch it?

The BBC has not yet confirmed an official release date for Mint. But with filming wrapped in early 2025, industry insiders believe it will premiere on BBC One and iPlayer either at the very end of this year or in early 2026. Given the buzz already building, don’t be surprised if the BBC positions it as a flagship winter drama.

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Why Mint Could Be the BBC’s Next Big Hit

• Fresh perspective: It focuses on women and family, rather than just criminals.

• Star power: A cast that blends breakout talent with seasoned legends.

• Cultural relevance: A timely exploration of love, power and the cost of violence.

• Global appeal: With comparisons to Shetland and The Missing, it has the potential to captivate international audiences.

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Final Word

In an era crowded with crime dramas, Mint looks set to carve out its own unique space — raw, emotional, heartbreaking and unforgettable. By flipping the gangster narrative and centring the story on Shannon and her family, Charlotte Regan and the BBC are giving us not just another series about crime, but a series about life, love and loss in the shadow of crime.

It’s messy. It’s emotional. It’s gripping. And it might just be the most human crime drama the BBC has ever made.

So mark your calendars, clear your schedules, and prepare to meet the Dylan family. Because once Mint drops, you won’t be able to look away.